Away
by Yunagirlamy
Summary: 100 theme challenge. "Then, the sound of doors being unlatched followed by footsteps was heard—and now Eugene was tenser than he had ever been. Because when those doors opened, Eugene Fitzherbert thought he was going to have to go away forever this time."


**Author's Notes: Part of a 100 theme challenge I'm doing. All previous one-shots have been Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy; this is the first Tangled one, plus my first Tangled fan fiction! **_**Yay! **_**(In Eugene style.)**

**Summary: Then, the sound of doors being unlatched followed by footsteps was heard—and now Eugene was tenser than he had **_**ever**_** been. Because** **when those doors opened, Eugene Fitzherbert thought he was going to have to go away forever this time.**

**Disclaimer: Tangled belongs to Disney, not me, sadly.**

**8. Away.**

When Blondie had told him he was healed by a tear, well he had been pretty surprised.

_That_ was nothing compared to the next revelation.

"_Eugene, I'm the lost princess!"_

The way she had just blurted it out—it was so casual. Eugene found it _far_ from casual.

"_You're… you're the lost princess?" _he had cried, his voice a much higher pitch than usual. _"Since when?"_

Rapunzel shrugged with a wide grin on her beautiful features. _"Erm… forever, I guess?"_

His breath started to get faster for some reason. _"W-Wow, you're the lost—the princess?" _His voice was still high. _"Gee, that's—that's really something! You're–the–_lost_–princess! You're–_the_–lost–princess! You're–the–lost–_princess_!"_

"_Eugene? Are you… freaking out?"_

"Me_, freaking out? No, I'm not freaking out—you're not freaking out, so why would I be freaking out? Totally–_not_–freaking–out–here!"_

"_Eugene?"_

"_Yes, lost princess?"_

"_You're freaking out." _

And that was how he had come to find himself standing on the balcony of the castle, staring down at the kingdom of Corona. He never thought he would see such a view—at least from where he was standing anyway. The last time he'd seen this view was strangely two days before, around eight in the morning. Except that time, he'd been standing on the _roof_ of the castle. The ironic thing was, though, that stealing the princess' crown had brought him here – the _last_ place a wanted thief would like to be.

He rubbed his hands together, nerves getting the best of him. His eyes darted to Goldie – even though she couldn't _really_ be called that anymore – and she seemed just as uneasy, if not more. Her top teeth were slightly biting down on her lip and her eyes were glued to the floor. Her hands rested on the railing, but that didn't stop her thumbs from rubbing her index fingers constantly. Of course, Eugene knew she had more reason to be nervous than he did; she _was_ meeting a new mother, after all _and_ a parental figure she had never known: a father. So Eugene placed a comforting hand over hers and offered her a reassuring smile. She smiled back, but it quickly changed into a frown again. So did Eugene's.

Then, the sound of doors being unlatched followed by footsteps was heard—and now Eugene was tenser than he had _ever_ been. Because when those doors opened, Eugene Fitzherbert thought he was going to have to go away forever this time. Because when those doors opened and he was in the presence of the King and Queen of Corona, he didn't feel like Eugene Fitzherbert anymore.

He felt like Flynn Rider.

He knew that once the King and Queen set their eyes on him – because their attention was all focused on their lost-and-found daughter – they would summon the guards and order his execution.

He _should_ have felt like Eugene Fitzherbet, the man who saved the Princess of Corona—not Flynn Rider, the thief who stole the tiara of the Princess of Corona.

And so, he stood there, rigid as a stone as the reunited family sank to the ground whilst hugging each other. Flynn Rider was telling him to run, as far away as possible—Eugene Fitzherbert was telling him to stay, for Rapunzel. He wouldn't deny that Flynn Rider's idea was sounding _much_ more tempting at this moment in time – but that suddenly changed. For the Queen offered a hand to him.

It was Eugene Fitzherbert that accepted that hand, not Flynn Rider—and when the Queen tugged him down into the family hug, Eugene Fitzherbert knew then that he was here to stay and Flynn Rider was going to go away.

**Yunagirlamy, 4.1.11.**


End file.
